ｂｒｅａｔｈｅ
by SamNny
Summary: Kaito's had two successful days of surfing for the ongoing competition, but when he's supposed to meet up with Lucia and the others for dinner, things start to fall apart. He finds himself in another one-shot only situation to come to Lucia's rescue, and all he can do is hope that he makes it on time. Lucito.


It was strange to think that, after all this time, it wouldn't be a somebody that was trying to kill her. It wasn't a somebody that wished her harm, somebody that wanted to take something – or worse, _someone _– away from her. There was no Gaito and his fan-girls trying to lure her to the depths of the ocean, no Mikeru to go on a horrible rampage of sorrow and chaos. She couldn't blame anyone, no matter how awful it was. This was not at the hands of the Black Beauty Sisters, Lady Bat, or any of the like. This was all just a terrible twist of fate.

There was a surfing competition down at the beach today. Naturally, Kaito had entered it. A nearby hotel had been rented out to foreign competitors, news crews, and spectators. The lobby was a social gathering for friends and family looking to meet up and a playground of sorts for younger children. Lucia and her friends sifted through the crowd of people inside, their only desire was to make it to the dining hall. All the restaurants along the shoreline were just as crowded, but they had already planned to meet up inside the hotel for dinner with Kaito. He had been allowed to pick the place after winning yesterdays round. Seeing as how he was being put up there for the night (though Lucia had no idea why – he lived so close, after all), he reasoned that it would just be easier that way.

It was up to her, Hanon, and Rina to claw their way through the enormous crowd gathered around the bar, effectively blocking the entrance way into the restaurant, as they sipped on whatever drink they held and glued their eyes to the TV. The local reporter was currently on air, probably wrapping up his story of today's events. There was only one more day of the competition, leaving everyone anxious and excited. But just as they'd reached the door and were greeted, Hanon's phone went off.

The bluenette quickly whipped out her mobile, holding it up to her ear while using her free hand to cover the other. The place was so noisy, especially at this time, and she could barely hear Nagisa shouting at her on the other end. "_I don't know where you disappeared to, but I've got a table and an ice cream cone waiting for you by the pier. I almost died getting it, too!_" The boy could be so ridiculous at times, but she found the notion sweet. She shot a simultaneously pleading and apologetic look at Rina and Lucia before they giggled and waved her off. She beamed and mouthed a 'thank you' before hollering into the receiver, "I'll be there in ten minutes!"

Once out of sight, the girls were seated at a table for three, unknowingly becoming a table for two. Lucia and Rina glanced at their menus, waiting patiently for Kaito to emerge from the crowd. They knew it would take him _ages _to finally join them, seeing as how he was in today's top three slot. He was popular, to put it mildly, and it wasn't surprising in the least that he was instantly swarmed after the day was done. If it wasn't reporters and camera men, it was fan-girls and fan-boys. Yes, women gushed over him, as if it actually shocked anyone. He was rather used the attention, to be honest. He would smile, be friendly, but he kept his cool. It had taken him all of last summer to convince Lucia that he wasn't going to run off with every cute girl that walked up to him. It was actually the only reason that she wasn't there waiting for him now. He had told her last night to go ahead with her friends to get them a table at the restaurant, least it take him forever to get there and they end up waiting in line for two hours starving to death. He wasn't going to blow it.

As for the fan-boys, they were mostly just admirers. Other men that thought he was oh-so-cool and talented. They would ask him for advice, tips and tricks, and they mostly hung around so they could tell their friends and girlfriends that they had been up close and personal with the legendary surfer. After his surf competition abroad, there was hardly anyone who didn't recognize him.

So while he was busy dealing with the public and causing an uproar, Lucia and Rina had been giggling over the silly names given to some of the more… _exquisite _items on the menu. They honestly didn't know what half of the stuff was, and virtually none of it sounded appealing. They were just grateful to see some less complex food choices available to them. It didn't change how expensive they were, but it was at least agreeable.

However, halfway through their second glass of water, the most unexpected person showed up. Coming in from the left, Lucia caught him in her peripheral vision. Her mouth contorted into a grin as she saw the familiar mop of green hair approaching their table. "Well, well, look who it is, Rina!" the blonde blurted in a tone that Rina _really _didn't like. Turning around, she found that she was face-to-chest with none other than Masahiro Hamasaki.

The olive-haired man smiled at the two of them, waving his hand lightly to signal a 'hello.' He placed his hand on the back of Rina's chair, causing a slight blush to spread across her face. He made small talk for a moment, commenting briefly on Kaito's wonderful success in the competition thus far. Lucia could tell he was just trying to be polite – he didn't just want to abruptly swoop in and steal her only remaining companion away. However, it still ended up being so, as Hamasaki had just finished his meal and he proceeded to ask Rina to accompany him on a walk. She tried to protest, partially out of not wanting to leave her friend alone to wait, but also because she was rather hungry herself. Without missing a beat, he pulled out a box of still warm leftovers from behind his back and enticed her with the idea of finishing them off for herself along the way.

Lucia, being Lucia, couldn't resist putting Rina in the company of the man she'd so obviously fallen for. She practically hoisted her out of the chair and shoved her in his general direction. Her face was lit up like a neon sign, but Hamasaki beamed at her as he waved goodbye. They were so clearly meant for each other that she just couldn't stand it.

However, with both of her friends gone out on dates of their own, Lucia was now forced to entertain herself while she waited. She knew that Kaito wouldn't be too much longer, but it was still a drag to wait alone. She spent the next several minutes chit-chatting with the waitress that kept stopping by her table asking if she needed a refill or perhaps wanted to order and appetizer to get started. She was being polite and doing her job exceptionally well, but it didn't change the fact that the more times she passed, the longer it meant that Lucia had been waiting.

That was when the trouble had started. No one thought anything of it, at first. Smoke alarms were blaring inside the restaurant, but everyone assumed it was just a chef screwing up someone's food. When the smoke stopped filtering out of the kitchen, everyone resumed their previous conversations. The alarms were still going off, though, and Lucia couldn't figure out why. She looked around to see any other signs of danger, but… well, there was no other source of smoke, and no one else seemed to be panicked, so she decided to just act casually.

It was a decision she would later regret.

No more than three minutes after the alarms in the restaurant had been silenced, alarms all over the hotel began going off. The restaurant manager came out, telling everyone that there had been a fire on the floor above and that everyone needed to calmly evacuate the building. No one had started to really worry until the smoke filtered its way downstairs. It came in fast and thick, sending a wave of coughs and screams throughout the room. The emergency door had been opened and people were flooding out as if the flames were nipping at their heels. Lucia tried to get up and go outside, but she was stuck towards the back of the crowd. Every exit was like this and she knew it, so she'd just have to wait it out. She figured she wasn't in any real danger yet.

Unfortunately, fate was not so kind to her on this day. About midway through her escape, the smoke had finally triggered the sprinklers. Water erupted like heavy rain from the ceiling and Lucia shrieked as it hit her. If this crowd didn't get a serious move on it, she was going to transform.

So tried to take an aggressive stance and push her way through the remaining people, but she wasn't strong enough. Older men and women with children bullied her towards her previous spot in line and she could almost cry. It was then that a sickly looking older man decided to mimic her. He was fighting against the people, literally scratching at them to let him through. By the looks of it, the lack of oxygen was going to seriously hurt him, if not kill him, if he couldn't get out fast enough. He was so focused on freeing himself that he didn't mind his actions, and when the man in front of him threw him back, his elbow collided squarely with Lucia's face. She had been knocked back, smacking her head on the corner of one of the tables, and it rendered her unconscious.

No one seemed to notice her fall as it seemed that people were finally starting to clear the doorway. The sprinklers had been on long enough that, conscious or not, Lucia transformed into a mermaid. There was no one to look back at her, no one to see her, but that was working against her. While it was great that she hadn't been discovered, it also meant that she would probably die in the fire.

Meanwhile, not far from the hotels entrance, Kaito came rushing up to the building as soon as he saw the smoke billowing out. In the middle of all of the chaos and noise, he almost missed his phone going off. He answered it hastily, Hanon's shaky and scared voice filling his ears. "_Kaito! Kaito, please tell me you made it to the hotel!_"

"I'm standing outside, Hanon, where are you guys?" he asked her, his eyes darting all over the area for signs of her aqua blue tresses. Hell, he even filtered in Rina's mossy locks, just to make sure he'd see them together.

"_That's the thing, Kaito, I'm not at the hotel. I met up with Nagisa before I even got inside the restaurant and Lucia had sent me a text not long after that saying that Rina had left with Hamasaki. She was left alone inside to wait for you!_"

Kaito's heart dropped as she said that. Lucia was definitely inside the hotel, alone, and that meant she was inside when the fire started. He quickly mumbled something along the lines of 'don't worry, I'll find her' before he snapped his phone shut and took off. If she had been inside the restaurant, then she should have come out on the other side.

Kaito took off in a sprint, reaching a speed he didn't even think possible, as he rounded the corner to the backside of the hotel. He saw the sign for the restaurant through the smoke above the door and scanned the crowd for Lucia. Her stark blonde hair was hard to miss, but she was also a lot shorter than most of the people gathered. They were all pretty much adults and small children and she could be mixed anywhere in between them. He started pushing his way through everyone, having much better luck than she did, and he screamed her name.

He wasn't sure exactly how he knew, but the moment her heard the sirens wailing in the distance, approaching the hotel, he knew that she hadn't made it out. He bolted towards the door to the restaurant, a few people trying to hold him back, but he easily fought his way out. The door had been left propped open, so he quickly hurried through it and looked around. The smoke was so thick that it practically covered the whole room. He could hardly see his own hand in front of his face.

"Lucia!" God, his throat was raw from screaming her name already. He walked around, carelessly bumping into chairs and tables, cursing himself every time he did so. He wouldn't be able to last much longer in this toxic environment, let alone with how hot it was getting with the approaching flames. He would have been forced to give up hope had he not tripped and fell from hitting her tail.

He crawled over to her, getting up real close so he could see. He said her name, touched her face, but nothing happened. He went to grab her head, to force her to look at him, but his hand was greeted with something wet. Pulling it back, he saw that his fingers were covered in blood. Crawling over her to get a better look, he pieced together what happened. Head injuries were never good, but he was happy to see that it wasn't a lot of blood. He quickly slid his fingers over her throat and waited to feel her pulse. Once he confirmed that she still had one (it was faint, but there), he lunged up for the nearest table, snatched the tablecloth from it, and wrapped it around her like a blanket. Then, with all the strength he could muster, he picked her up, securing her in his arms, and carefully dashed for the door.

He exited the building just as the fire department showed up. He hurried off to a place far enough away that he deemed safe. He set Lucia down, deciding to wait until she changed back before getting her over to one of the ambulances. He tore off a piece of the tablecloth and used it to apply pressure to the gash on her head. His eyes were desperate, they were boring holes into her, begging her to open her eyes for him. It wasn't until after his phone rang, yet again the caller being Hanon, that she did just that. She had met up with Rina and they were pleading with him about the matter of Lucia's wellbeing. He barely managed to tell them that she was alive, yet unconscious, and that he was hiding off somewhere behind a nearby building.

Lucia weakly stared up at Kaito, a relieved smile plastered upon his face. Words could not describe how elated he was at that very moment. He quickly tested her memory, her successfully answering that her name was Lucia Nanami, she lived with her sister Nikora, she was the pink mermaid princess of the North Pacific Ocean, and the last thing she remembered was trying to get out of the hotel. She was able to identify Kaito and she knew that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, and at that revelation, he quickly swooped down and hugged her tightly.

He was able to help her into a semi-sitting position as Hanon and Rina approached them at full speed. As much as he wanted to allow them to have this touching moment, he quickly informed them that Lucia needed to be in one of those ambulances and get to the hospital. She was able to quickly change back into her human form and he once again carried her off.

Everyone gathered at the hospital, anxiously awaiting the news from Lucia's doctor. Fortunately, he didn't keep them waiting long and he emerged with good news. Aside from her head injury and the smoke inhalation, she suffered no other casualties, and she would be able to leave the hospital in a few days.

So around midnight, when all of the madness finally died down, Kaito lightly knocked on her door. She called for him to come in, her voice laced with drowsiness. He wandered over to her bedside, placing a tender kiss on her forehead before sitting down next to her. He pulled at the tray beside her bed, setting it up so it was over her lap. Before she could get too confused, he pulled a bag out from behind his back and quickly set down some food.

"I know you're tired and all, and, hey, maybe you've already eaten, but… we did have dinner plans tonight." He said, trying to sound casual and smooth. Lucia just smiled at him, quelling his inner-feelings of guilt for not getting there sooner, and took his hand. She could safely say that it was the best dinner date she'd ever had.

* * *

"A/N: It's about time I wrote something for this fandom. I don't have too much to say about this piece, I wrote it while sick in bed. Got nothing but time until class starts, so I figured I'd go for it. Anyway, I'd really like to get some feedback on this to see if I should write more for this fandom/pairing. So, go ahead, do your worst. All feedback is appreciated. Also, set this in whatever point during the story you want. All I know is that it's before the end of the series. Also, I've only read the manga, I haven't seen the anime, so… yeah."


End file.
